ORGANISERS
What is the From Zero To Fintech
Hackathon?
The contemporary Fintech market is a jungle. With this Hackathon, we – BFA, FEBA at Sofia University, and our partners, are aiming at guiding you through all booby traps, deadly insects, and fierce predators well-hidden in the Fintech world of 2021. In a series of workshops, the event provides all participants with the tools to:
- Build a fire – creating a sustainable Fintech idea
- Find a source of drinking water – pitching before investors
- Find a shelter – be in compliance with regulations
- Sailing at the open market – awards provided by our sponsors, in the form of services will help your ideas come to life
Who is it for?
Obviously, From Zero To Fintech is open to everyone who has been flying or is about to jump in the plane of finance, IT, marketing, law, etc. We welcome aboard all Fintech-savvy disruptors who are not afraid to face the market reality.
UNDER THE PATRONAGE OF
THE EVENT IS SUPPORTED BY:
PARTNERS OF THE EVENT
Main
Gold
Silver
Bronze
CHALLENGES
- Case studies*
a. Provide solutions to cases suggested by Bulgarian and international companies and government institutions
b. Get noticed by FinTech and BigTech companies that search for TOP talent - Build your own FinTech startup*
a. Make your own Future in Finance: Develop and test an idea from the ground up
b. Get the best advice from our mentors to prepare for an independent entrepreneurial path and (maybe
) become the new Robinhood™ - Open Banking*
a. Get a free access to the API-simulator of the first Open Banking provider in Bulgaria: IRIS Solutions
b. Apply your advanced IT skills and develop open banking solutions for payments, credit risk management, asset management, insurance, green finance, smart regulation and smart cities, and more
* The case study solutions and your FinTech startup ideas may involve application of Open Banking
JURY
Bulgarian Public Sector:
Boyko Takov
Executive director of Bulgarian Small and Medium Size Enterprise Promotion Agency
Anton Gerunov
Associate Professor
Sofia University
Silicon Valley Representatives
Middle East Representative
Assen Tchorbadjiev
Senior advisor: business & technology operations management
Accenture
Victor Penev
Founder CEO of Edamam LLC,
Co-founder of NetInfo
Hristo Hristov
Ambassador Of Middle East @ Coinstreet Partners
Dubai Blockchain Community
Bulgarian Fintech Sector Representatives
Todor Nikolov
Senior BisDev
Manager
Visa
Boyan Yurukov
Chapter Lead Development
Commerzbank
Ivelin Kamburov
Group CFO & BoD Member
Credissimo
Kiril Nikolov
Sales
Executive
Nexo
Denis Brodsky
Chief People Officer
TBI Bank
Nayden Marechkov
Director Of Product Development
Mastercard
Alexander Dimitrov
Executive Director-BoD Member
BACB
WORKSHOP MENTORS - FINTECH WIZARDS
Gergana Stoichkova
Investment Associate
Eleven Ventures
Belizar Marinov
Investment Associate
Eleven Ventures
Stoyan Pedev
CEO of Conquex
IBM Champion Blockchain
Ivan Vankov
Principal Blockchain Architect
IBM Champion
Marina Shideroff
Founder & CEO of Fram Creative Solutions
Ivan Bondokov
Co Founder of Limacon
Nikolay Tsvetanov
Managing Partner at Penkov, Markov and Partners
Iva Nachkova
Co-founder of 356labs
BUSINESS CASE MENTORS
Filip Mutafis
Investor in
Paysera Bulgaria
Galya Dimitrova
Managing Partner
Iris Solutions
Mihael Mihaylov
Co-founder and BDO
Iris Solutions
Boris Ilinov
Chief Financial Officer
Klear Lending
Angel Marchev
Professor
UNWE
Georgi Kirov
Founder
Connexion Bulgarie
AGENDA
| # | Name of Workshop | Organization involved | Company name | Speaker | Time |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Fintech ecosystem in Bulgaria | NGO | BFA | Georgi Penev | 10:00 - 10:30 |
| 2 | Top 3 technologies in Fintech | Private company | IBM Champions | Stoyan Pedev & Ivan Vankov |
10:30 - 11:00 |
| 3 | Creation of a Fintech Business plan & Financing |
Venture capital | Visa Eleven | Gergana Stoichkova & Belizar Marinov |
11:00 - 12:30 |
| BREAK | 12:30 - 13:00 | ||||
| 4 | Fintech Regulation | Lawyers | PM&P | Nikolay Tsvetanov |
13:00 - 13:30 |
| 5 | Fintech UX | Design firm | Fram | Marina Shiderof | 13:30 - 14:00 |
| 6 | Market and sell your solution | Marketing firm | Limacon | Ivan Bondokov | 14:00 - 15:00 |
| BREAK | 15:00 - 15:15 | ||||
| 7 | Pitching and presenting your solution | Presentation company | 356 labs | Iva Nachkova | 15:15 - 16:00 |
PRINCIPLES
Fulfill these principles and let your creativity rise and shine
ELIGIBILITY
The hackathon welcomes everyone interested in the field of finance. Whether you are a business, IT, Marketing, Sales or Law focused, or just a Fintech-savvy who wants to be the creator of the next generation Fintech, that’s the place for you!
TEAM SIZE
If you don’t have a team yet, during the event we will help you form teams of up to 6 people. The dream team would look like: 1.Finance 2. IT 3. Marketing 4. Sales 5. Legal
CHECK-IN IS A MUST
All participants have to register by 23:59 on 5th March.
SUBMIT ON TIME
All teams should submit their work by 23:59 on 13th March. Any presentations submitted after will be invalid.
OWNERSHIP AND INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY
Teams have full ownership of everything they create during the event. Teams are free to do with it as they see wish.
BE NICE WITH EACH OTHER
We are all here to have fun and learn from the best. No need for hard feelings. Keep your cool 🙂
COMMON QUESTIONS
Before you ask, check these Q&As
The Hackathon is completely FREE of charge. Zero. Zip. Nada.
Don’t worry about that, you just fill in the form below and type in a short bio of yours, ideas, passion, interests and so on. The Hackathon is about meeting new, fresh people. We will get you in a team according to your interests and profile. But, still there will be plenty of time for everyone to meet other and pick teams before the start of the actual hacking.
In the COVID times we will use Slack, Microsoft Teams, Miro as a whiteboard and Google.
The business cases are provided by BFA membe companies who are willing to challenge you in resolving a real-life problem. Get the puzzle sorted and you can expect a call from them.
Of course you can! You are more than welcome to work on your own idea. Make sure it matches Judge’s expectations and workshops’ training. If you don’t have a team yet, you better hurry and share your idea with the audience, so you get the best chances on building the team you dreamed of.
Mentors are there to help you. They will make the best out of their schedule to meet and discuss relevant topics to them. If you are having an idea on Regtech you will be provided with the list of mentors on Regtech. Give them a shout and schedule a suitable time for both your team and your mentor.
Iris PSD2 HUB is a platform that benefits all innovative financial companies and institutions which are interested in applying Open-banking in their products and services. Using a single-integration API to IRIS PSD2 HUB, anyone can access all banks and financial institutions on the platform: 13 banks in Bulgaria, Revolut, Paysera, banks in Greece and Romania.
The best ideas will receive awards, provided by our sponsors, in the form of services that will further support the development of the ideas and help them step up on the market.
From Zero To Fintech Hackathon is not about the winning, it’s about the learning. Through the hackathons and the process of working in teams you will get unique insights about the Fintech market and meet amazing people on the way. There is always a next year and you will more than welcomed to join once again 🙂
Good wi-fi and a PC. Most importantly - passion to work in a team and a smile on your face.
If we haven’t answer to all your questions, feel free to drop us a line at: [email protected]
JUDGING CRITERIA
To win this race you need to go the whole nine yards. So you better get an idea on how your idea will be evaluated.
PRIZES
The IBM Prize
$12,000 in IBM Cloud credits for one year (Startup with IBM Program - Builder Level)About the Program
The Startup with IBM program is intended to help start-up businesses around IBM’s key initiatives by providing resources, global reach and in-depth knowledge and experience with the world's largest enterprise customers. With IBM’s scalable solutions, you can revolutionize your build. The IBM Cloud credits give access to more than 130 unparalleled services including: AI, Blockchain, Analytics, Security and more!
*All applicants must comply with the Program Terms and Conditions and confirm their eligibility. More info here.
IRIS PSD 2 Prize
Iris solutions provides free of charge services and access to PSD 2 productional environmentIRIS Open Banking Prize
The winner of Iris’s prize receives 9-month free-of-charge access to the productional environment of IRIS PSD 2 HUB where there are more than 20 integrated payments institutions. In addition, Iris Open banking winner becomes Iris Solutions representative and gets 1-year access to IRIS Solutions SDK for mobile apps and WEB.
7Security PCI DSS
7Security group provides the winner with a €2, 000 worth of orientation consulting7Security PCI DSS Prize
The winner of the 7 Security Group prize receives € 2,000 PCI DSS consulting package. It consists of 2 parts - orientation consulting and scope estimation. Orientation consulting gives a grasp of the complexity and all aspects involved in a PCI DSS compliance effort, while the Scope estimation part of the prize defines the reasons, method, and path to reducing the number of people, technologies, and processes subject to assessment, and influences the bottom line directly.
PMP Legal Prize
The winner gets legal advice from the best in Fintech law and regulationsPMP Legal Prize
The PMP Prize provides the winner with legal advice and assistance to a FinTech start-up company, including preliminary oral consultations with the start-up team on relevant regulatory matters in light of the contemplated business model; preparation of the necessary corporate documentation and registration of the start-up as an operating legal entity (incl. bank account opening, submission of documents and representation with the Bulgarian Commercial Register, etc.); initial analysis of relevant compliance matters related to the core activities of the start-up; subsequent engagement with and support of the company with view to establishing long-term cooperation under preferential conditions.
ABOUT THE ORGANISERS
